Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 36

Loki had thought all-night parties were more of an Asgardian thing, but the longer the ruckus downstairs goes on for, the less certain he's becoming. Maybe humans have better stamina than he'd anticipated, at least in this instance.

Steve was right: this is obnoxious. He didn't think it would bother him very much, but he also didn't think it would be this loud. It's getting late -- it's getting early, actually; it's well past midnight -- and he'd usually be settling into bed right around now. Unfortunately, even lying in bed for the last few hours with a pair of earplugs in and a pillow over his head, he still can't block out the noise. He tried with his magic a few times, but every time he'd start to fall asleep, his spell would falter and the sudden influx of screams would jolt him awake.

He already told them they could have their party. He obviously can't renege on that now. Showing his face downstairs would be a surefire way to piss Tony off, and while he does enjoy upsetting him, he doesn't want Tony to retaliate. Loki has to worry about Asgard's intervention, but Tony doesn't. That automatically makes it a losing game.

Still, he's getting pretty restless. If nothing else, he wants to know when he can expect this party to be over. And now that he thinks of it, he doesn't have to show his face to get a quick look at what's going on down there. It might be worth a try.

Loki shields himself from sight, a simple illusion of invisibility that he really should use more often. As promised, his hallway is entirely empty. The caution tape outside the elevator on this floor and the barricaded door to the stairwell have made sure of it.

Loki opts to take the stairs. He teleports past the barricade, and he makes the rest of the journey on foot. He's always wary about teleporting out of eyesight. His mother used to tell him not to in case he teleported into something -- or someone, which is a worse thought -- and even though he realized as he grew older that she probably just didn't want her child randomly appearing all throughout the realm with no warning, the warning has stuck with him.

The party is impossibly louder downstairs than it was in his room, and Loki finds himself wishing he'd kept his earbuds with him. He was correct to assume this would pale in comparison to an Asgardian party. He'd barely even call it one. A lot of people are bopping around to the terrible excuse for "music" blasting out of the speakers, though many are preoccupied with conversations or public displays of affection. Loki has seen much public flirtation in Asgard, especially when people get drunk -- he'd be lying if he said he'd never done the same -- but this level of shameless promiscuity leaves him embarrassed for them.

Steve had told him it was a costume party, and he'd overheard the same from Fury, but he doesn't understand how many of these people consider their clothing a costume. Many of the men seem to have thrown on whatever they could find, and many of the women just seem to be using it as an excuse to wear as little as they want. (Which, really, is ridiculous. Once again, he's embarrassed for them. Did they truly need a party as an excuse to dress slutty, when there are another perfectly good 364 days every year to make the most of, too?)

Admittedly, some of the costumes are impressive. He doesn't know what they reference -- likely some Midgardian media he'll never see -- but he has to admire the flamboyance of some of them. He does not admire the various Avengers costumes he catches glimpse of, but he tries to ignore those. People only know who the Avengers are (with the exceptions of Iron Man and Captain America, he supposes, but they also presumably had an uptake in popularity at the same time) because they stopped him. He'd rather not think about the fact that all these people in Avengers costumes are celebrating his defeat.

Finding Tony proves to be an easy feat. He is, unsurprisingly, drunk as hell, talking to a group of reasonably attractive women with Rhodey by his side. Loki wonders briefly if one of these women is Pepper Potts. He only knows the name; he's never actually met her. She could be standing in front of him at this very moment and he wouldn't know.